General Motors

Staff / Principal Software Engineer, In-Vehicle AI Experiences

General Motors$189K — $290K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
  • Minimum of 8+ years for Staff, 10+ years for Principal roles in building and shipping production software.
  • Hands-on software development expertise in Kotlin, Java, C++, Python or related languages, primarily focusing on Kotlin and Android.
  • Proven track record of independently delivering complex, user-facing features across diverse components or systems.
  • Ability to convert ambiguous goals into actionable software designs and plans.
  • Strong aptitude for system design, debugging, testing, and maintaining operational quality.
  • Experience leading technical initiatives across organizational boundaries.

Responsibilities

  • Define and build driver-facing capabilities from concept through production.
  • Own features end-to-end, from the driver's request through to vehicle integration.
  • Write production-level Kotlin and contribute to tech stacks including Python, NLU, and APIs.
  • Rapidly prototype new experiences, test them in real vehicle situations, and develop successful products.
  • Collaborate with various teams including Product, UX, and safety for feature development.
  • Make pragmatic decisions on customer value, speed, and software maintainability.
  • Diagnose complex issues across applications, the assistant framework, and cloud interactions.

Benefits

  • Eligibility for the company vehicle evaluation program, allowing you to drive and evaluate GM vehicles.
  • Flexible work arrangement requiring on-site presence in Mountain View, CA, at least three times a week.
  • Potential for relocation benefits for the right candidates.
Full Job Description

Job Description

Work Arrangement:
This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to Mountain View, CA three times per week at minimum or other frequency dictated by the business.

The Role

GM’s Vehicle AI Experiences team is building the next generation of intelligent experiences for GM vehicles. Our mandate is simple: own what the driver can do and how it feels.

We are seeking hands-on Staff and Principal Software Engineers who can turn ambiguous customer problems into high-quality, production-ready experiences. You will work primarily in Kotlin and Android Automotive, while owning features across the broader in-vehicle assistant stack—including conversation design, natural language understanding, LLM behavior, vehicle integration, connected services, and UI.

The center of gravity for this role is product engineering rather than AI research or agent-platform specialization. We value broad engineering judgment, rapid learning, and a record of shipping complete products more than expertise in any particular AI framework.

This is a small, fast-moving team. You will have substantial autonomy, remain close to the code, help determine what we build, and improve how the larger organization delivers software.


What You’ll Do
  • Define and build driver-facing capabilities from concept through production.

  • Own features end to end—from the driver’s request and conversational behavior through on-device fulfillment, vehicle integration, UI, validation, and iteration.

  • Write production Kotlin and contribute across adjacent technologies such as Python-based agent definitions, NLU, LLM orchestration, APIs, and connected services.

  • Rapidly prototype new experiences, evaluate them in realistic vehicle environments, and turn successful ideas into reliable products.

  • Partner with Product, UX, conversation design, vehicle software, systems, platform, safety, privacy, and validation teams.

  • Make pragmatic tradeoffs among customer value, speed, reliability, latency, offline behavior, resource constraints, maintainability, and driver distraction.

  • Diagnose complex issues across application, assistant, vehicle, and cloud boundaries.

  • Use AI-assisted development workflows to accelerate design, implementation, testing, debugging, and codebase understanding while maintaining a high quality bar.

  • Establish reusable engineering patterns and lightweight workflows that help the team deliver faster.

  • Mentor engineers through implementation, design reviews, code reviews, and direct technical collaboration.

  • Help shape the roadmap for in-vehicle AI experiences and identify opportunities that emerging technology makes possible.



Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)
  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

  • Significant experience building and shipping production software:

    • Staff: Minimum 8+ years.

    • Principal: Minimum 10+ years.

  • Strong hands-on software development skills in Kotlin, Java, C++, Python, or a comparable language, with the ability and interest to work primarily in Kotlin and Android.

  • A record of independently delivering complex, user-facing features across multiple components or systems.

  • Ability to turn ambiguous customer or business goals into concrete designs, incremental plans, and working software.

  • Strong system-design, debugging, testing, and operational-quality judgment.

  • Experience leading technical work across organizational or functional boundaries.

  • Clear communication with engineers, designers, product partners, and technical leadership.

  • Demonstrated ability to learn unfamiliar technologies quickly and apply them pragmatically.

  • Experience using modern AI-assisted software-development workflows effectively and responsibly.


What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

Experience in one or more of the following areas is valuable. We do not expect candidates to have all of them:

  • Android or Android Automotive OS, including Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, Android services, IPC, or system applications.

  • Automotive, infotainment, embedded, robotics, consumer-device, or other resource-constrained software.

  • Vehicle integration, including VHAL, vehicle services, signals, APIs, or automotive networks.

  • Voice assistants or conversational products involving ASR, NLU, TTS, dialogue systems, or conversation evaluation.

  • LLM-enabled product development, including tool use, orchestration, prompt design, grounding, evaluation, or fallback behavior.

  • Building intuitive UX for multimodal or safety-conscious environments.

  • Python, cloud-connected services, authentication, or distributed systems.

  • Automated testing, observability, performance analysis, CI/CD, and field-quality feedback systems.


Staff-Level Scope

As a Staff Engineer, you will independently own a major capability or product domain. You will lead ambiguous cross-functional initiatives, establish effective technical patterns, and raise the delivery and quality bar for the team while remaining deeply involved in implementation.

Principal-Level Scope

As a Principal Engineer, you will shape technical and product direction across multiple capabilities. You will resolve difficult architectural and organizational boundaries, influence strategy across teams, and multiply the effectiveness of Staff and Senior engineers. You will remain hands-on, focusing direct implementation on high-risk, architecture-defining, and cross-cutting work.

Compensation: The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of the California Bay Area. 

  • The salary range for this role is ($189,300 - $290,000). The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position. 

  • Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance. 

Company Vehicle: Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.

This Job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

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About General Motors

General Motors Company engages in the manufacture and sale of cars and trucks in the United States, China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. It offers sedans, crossovers, sport utility vehicles, pick-up trucks, coupes, sports/convertibles and hybrid vehicles, hatchbacks/wagons, and vans, as well as mini cars in India. The company also provides parts and accessories, such as iPod and MP3 compatibility, mobility accessories, performance parts, AC parts and services, and merchandise. In addition, it offers vehicle safety, security, and information services. The company provides used vehicles. It offers its products through dealers and distributors. General Motors Company was formerly known as NGMCO, Inc. and changed its name to General Motors Company in July 2009. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Detroit, Michigan. It operates manufacturing facilities in India, the United States, and Canada. General Motors Company operates as a subsidiary of the United States Department of The Treasury. General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker, and is currently among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales. General Motors acts in most countries outside the USA via wholly-owned subsidiaries but operates in China through 10 joint ventures. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security, and information services. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, GM made an initial public offering IPOs to date and returned to profitability later that year.

General Motors Careers

Join the dynamic team at General Motors, a global leader in automotive innovation and technology. At General Motors, we offer unparalleled job opportunities that propel your career forward while contributing to a legacy of engineering excellence.

Work You’ll Do

Embark on a career with General Motors to drive the future of mobility. Our team is dedicated to redefining the automotive landscape through innovation and leadership in electric vehicles and sustainable solutions. By joining us, you will be part of a culture that values diversity, teamwork, and continuous professional growth.

Transform Your Career

General Motors is not just a company; it's a community where you can grow your skills alongside the best in the industry. Our leadership is committed to providing every employee—from interns to senior professionals—with opportunities for career advancement, leadership development, and diversity training.

Innovate and Lead

At General Motors, innovation is at the core of everything we do. From research and development to manufacturing, our teams work collaboratively to lead the industry with cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices. We encourage our employees to think big and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Join Our Global Team

As part of our global workforce, you will collaborate with talented individuals who are passionate about shaping the future of transportation. General Motors offers a variety of career paths in engineering, design, IT, marketing, and more. With over 155,000 employees worldwide, our network provides expansive opportunities for networking and professional development.

Internship Programs and Employment Benefits

Start your career journey with a General Motors internship, where you can apply your academic knowledge to real-world projects. Our internships provide a robust foundation in the automotive industry, with mentorship from experienced leaders. Full-time employees enjoy a wealth of benefits, including comprehensive health care, retirement plans, and performance bonuses, ensuring that your hard work is rewarded.

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Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, General Motors offers positions that leverage your unique skills. Our hiring process is designed to identify and nurture talent, focusing on aligning your capabilities with the right opportunities for growth within the company.

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Learn more about General Motors
Size
157,000 employees
Market Cap
$46.9 billion
Industry
Net Income
$6.4 billion
Founded
1908
5 Year Trend
-3.2%
Revenue
$122.4 billion
NASDAQ

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